


you & me (always) (and forever)

by dingletragedy



Series: i think i wanna marry you [2]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23819875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dingletragedy/pseuds/dingletragedy
Summary: “I want this too, y’know, always have,” Callum starts as Ben’s lips leave a train down to his collarbone. Callum fists a hand in the back of his jumper, pulling him in close, close, closer. “I want you forever, in this life and maybe even the next one.”“What d’ya mean, maybe?” Ben teases.“If you still look as good, I mean,” Callum finishes.“Hm,” Ben ponders, “well, I’d still love you if you were the sun, and I was the moon, y’know?”or, a marriage proposal with a twist
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: i think i wanna marry you [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716268
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	you & me (always) (and forever)

**Author's Note:**

> another tumblr prompt that got out of hand
> 
> title from you & me song - the wannadies

When Callum steps out of the shower that morning, the sun is just beginning to claw its way over the city, heat filling the tiny bathroom as it blazes orange and bright. There’s a note stuck to the back of the door in Ben’s loopy handwriting.

_ Don’t be too long, I’ve got your favourite breakfast on the go. Ben xx _

Callum towels at his hair and dries off quickly, grabs Ben’s dressing gown from one of the hooks on the door, the soft grey one that he’s come to love. 

At this time, their tiny kitchen is dusted in a blush of pinks and oranges, the sunlight waiting idly at the window. Ben’s skin glows in the light, a constant flush clinging to his cheeks, his collarbones and his elbows and knees. Even after all these years, he’s the most gorgeous thing Callum’s ever seen. The sky, with its sun and moon and star, ain’t got nothing on Ben. 

Ben doesn’t say much when Callum shuffles into the kitchen for breakfast, but Callum doesn’t think anything of it, his boyfriend won’t ever be a morning person. Instead, he just hums a quiet sound of appreciation as he eyes Callum’s attire and plates his breakfast up. Pancakes, with a heap of Nutella. 

“Your table manners are horrendous,” Ben says, as Callum wipes a lump of chocolate from his bottom lip, and then he’s standing up, picking up the newspaper on the counter before sitting back down across from Callum again and pushing it towards his plate. “Here, read this.”

“Uh, thanks,” Callum says, placing it off to the side of the table. “Why?”

“Hey, you’re supposed to actually read it, y’know,” Ben frowns.

“But I’m not finished eating yet,” Callum says slowly, his eyes slow and steady on Ben’s as he forks at his pancakes and then bites off a piece.

“No, Cal, come on,” Ben says, picking up the paper again and pushing it towards him. “There’s this really hilarious bit at the back, you know, on that announcements page, some lad in the dog house, trying to apologies to his wife.  _ Classic _ , I’m telling you.”

“Alright, alright,” Callum makes a face, laughs despite himself, eyes bright and smile a little mischievous, bitten down between his teeth.

He flips open the newspaper, keeps flipping and flipping until he’s near the back, because that’s where Ben said the funny bit was.

“I still ain’t sure anything more important than food,” He says, and he can feel Ben’s eyes on his face, skin burning with something anticipated. 

“Just—just read it, will you?” 

Ben sticks his tongue out at Ben, but does as he’s told because it’s Ben, and if Ben thinks he’ll like it, he knows he will. Scanning down the page, he starts to grin because there it is, right there in small print beside a little turquoise bullet point.

Callum reads it out loud, following the words with his finger.

“To my wonderful wife Lily, I would like to apologies for forgetting to feed your seven— _seven_ —beloved goldfish whilst you were away. I’ll make it up to you,” Callum finishes, and then he grins. “Oh, Joe in Manchester really _is_ in the dog house, ain’t he? This is gripping news, honestly, thanks for sharing.”

“Shut up,” Ben laughs, eyes glowing, skin flushed. “Keep reading. There’s more.”

“Alright,” Callum sighs, moving onto the next one. It takes a moment for him to remember where he left off, but then his finger is back on the words, and his voice is falling out into the room, slow and sleepy. “Callum,” he starts, and then pauses, his eyebrows furrowing together in concentration. “Uh, I can’t imagine my life without you. And I don’t want to, either. Will you marry me?” He finishes,  eyes burning and blurring all the words and colours together, white noise filling his ears, heart in his throat. “It says, from Ben — Ben in Walford.” 

When Callum dares to glance up, Ben is looking down at the ground, fingers pulling on a loose thread of table cloth, shaking, his chest rising and falling steadily, mouth pressed in a thin line. It’s as the first few chords of _You & Me Song_ start to crackle through the speaker, that he finally speaks.

“Sounds like a charmer, that Ben.” 

“Ben,” Callum says, his voice slow,  choked and thick, as he glances back down at the paper, running his finger over the words again. _ Will you marry me, marry me, marry me. _ “Ben, look at me?”

And, with that Ben  lifts his eyes back to Callum’s own, gentle and warm, dampening in the corners, with something behind, something new and  so familiar all at once. Callum feels everything around him go a little fuzzy, the second they look at each other, the whole room turns into an electric field.  He wonders if Ben can see how fast his heart is beating, how hard it’s thumping against his ribs.

“Yeah?” Ben  whispers, so quiet and flushed. 

“Are you sure about this?”

Ben stays quiet for a moment, just watching Callum with careful, cautious eyes, full of stars. The stereo is still whistling behind them, sounds of  _ you and me, always, and forever, _ filling the air, and a  buzzing warmth runs through Callum, oozes from his heart into his limbs and fills the whole room.

“Yeah,” Ben says finally. " _ Yes _ , I want you in my life forever, Callum.” 

There’s a moment, then, suspended, where they’re just staring at each other with blinding smiles. Calum’s entire face hurts, his eyes leaking beyond his control now, but he can’t stop it, can’t push it down. He doesn’t want to.

“Marry me?”

Every single nerve ending in Callum’s body lights up, blood pulsing through him in a mad rush, a mad scramble, to process everything bright and unexpected, like fireworks.  Because this doesn’t feel real, that’s the thing. He’s loved Ben for so long—loving him like he’d die if he didn’t, like he’d drown if he couldn’t. His love forBen was like a private constellation, at first, a star growing inside of his belly, bigger and bigger until the light spilt out onto his tongue. And the light stayed, shone brighter with each day, unable to hide itself from the world, and it’s here right now, and it’s making him nod, frantic and rushed like there isn’t enough time in the world for this moment. “Yes.”

“Yes?” Ben repeats,  chokes a little, eyes widening, but his smile, well, it could power cities. 

“Yes,” Callum says again, just to taste it. And then he says it once more, _ just because _ , because it’s the answer to every question that Ben could ever ask.  _ Will you always love me? Will you stay with me forever? And even past that? Yes, yes, yes.  _ “Yes, I’ll marry you, Ben. _ Shit.” _

The room seems to freeze when Callum speaks the words, and they just stare at each other for a moment, a moment that’s all silent and sun-filled, a clock ticking somewhere in the house, the music drowning out. Callum makes sure to catch everything, tucking pieces of this moment away in his memory, the shutter of his mind clicking in grainy snapshots—the way sunlight shifts over Ben’s face in soft patterns, his eyelashes casting shadows across his cheekbones, the stray tear tracking down his face like a pearl drop, his mouth is slightly parted, bottom lip bitten redraw with nerves. And suddenly, pathetically, Callum wants to kiss him, never stop kissing him.

Ben takes a step forward, says, “Cal,” and that’s all it takes, really.

They kiss messily, so fast, too fast, tongue and teeth and thudding hearts.

“I love you,” Callum chokes out. “Ben, you—you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

There’s that dizzy feeling again, like he’s on a slow-moving carousel and everything around him is blurring in and out of focus, leaving just him and Ben and the slow morning sun, him and Ben and the humming of the birds, him and Ben and the rest of their lives.

“I love you too,” Ben gasps out between kisses, pressing in hard. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long. Marry you.”

“Ben,” Callum says again, because he can’t say anything else.

“You have no idea,” another searing kiss, a hot press of their bodies, “how much you mean to me.”

“How could I not?” Callum says, then he’s exhaling sharply as Ben bites at his bottom lip, laughing into Callum’s mouth as he kisses back, fast and then faster, Callum’s body becoming nothing but a kaleidoscope of sun and stars and blood, blood buzzing through his veins like static, buzzing in his ears, so loud that it’s nothing but a swimming sound that spells out  _ Ben, Ben, Ben _ .

“Oh, wait—” Ben says, his voice sudden, rushed.

Callum blinks, frowning as Ben shoves his hand into one of his back pockets and pulls out a little black velvet box. Callum stares at it for a moment, and then the reality of everything rushes into place, and he laughs, loud and bold. “Ben—”

Ben makes a face. “It’s what I’m supposed to do, isn’t it?”

Callum nods, still giggling. “Well, yeah, but like—”

“Just shut up and give me your hand, would you? I don’t have all day.”

“Yes you do,” Callum says, but he holds out his hand anyways.

And there’s a moment where Callum literally thinks his heart stops.

It’s the moment when Ben opens up the ring box and the silver inside catches the light of the sun, and Callum suddenly realises that this is real, this is real life and he’s going to marry his best friend in the entire world.

“Shit,” Callum breathes, his voice barely a whisper.

“What do you think?” Ben asks suddenly, voice careful and cautious.

“What’s this on the side?” Callum questions, eyebrows furrowed down at the ring. 

“Oh,” Ben says, a flush flooding his cheek, he looks embarrassed, almost. “It’s our initials, look.”

_ B + C. Forever. _

“Ben,” Callum says, a bit blown. “That’s—I love it. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I love you”

Ben smiles. “That’s good to know.”

When mouths touch again, and it’s molten, soft and melty and _everything,_ Ben’s bottom lip caught wetly between Callum’s own. He has to let out a shudder of a breath, toes curling up so hard it hurts as Ben’s fingers gradually start to twist in his hair, pulling him closer. 

“I want this too, y’know, always have,” Callum starts as Ben’s lips leave a train down to his collarbone. Callum fists a hand in the back of his jumper, pulling him in close, close,  _ closer.  _ “I want you forever, in this life and maybe even the next one.”

“What d’ya mean,  _ maybe _ ?” Ben teases.

“If you still look as good, I mean,” Callum finishes.

“Hm,” Ben ponders, “well, I’d still love you if you were the sun, and I was the moon, y’know?” 

And that, that hits Callum right in the core of his heart, feels it twisting and thumping with emotion. He lets out a little huff of teary laughter, smiling blearily through it as Ben continues. With every word, he feels everything around him swirling, soaring. “You’ll never feel like you’re alone again, Callum,” eyes earnest and purposed, smiling around the words. “I’m your home, and you’re mine.” 

They’re forever, him and Ben. This moment, right now, began years ago, with that first look, that first touch, and they’ll be in this moment forever. There won’t ever be an end to this feeling, or an end to the two of them. Not even when they’re gone from the world, because Callum knows that whatever happens, they’ll find each other in every world, up in the sky with the rest of the stars or in the next life.

_ They’re forever, perpetual, infinite. _


End file.
